We just pushed out Build 86 (r29291) to all users with lots of bug fixes and enhancements. As always, you can read the entire list of enhancements on our Change Log. Notable changes include:

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We have always worked hard to make Digsby the best IM client on the market while keeping Digsby free for all users. Part of that effort includes finding ways to accelerate our development process so we can continue making Digsby even better. Introducing advertisements as a revenue model can potentially help us expand our team so we can continue improving Digsby while also dedicating more resources to finally launching Digsby on other platforms like Mac, Linux, and mobile devices.

We’re testing the waters with advertising as a revenue model today by introducing a single display ad at the bottom of the IM window (example below). We feel strongly about keeping the buddy list ad-free. In debating how this implementation should work, we quickly decided that there needs to be a way to disable ads since some users really dislike them and are adamant about maintaining a minimalist user interface. The first idea was to do a “freemium” model under which there was a paid “Pro Version” of Digsby which comes without the ads. However, we have always strived to keep Digsby free for all users so we instead decided to try something unique. The ads in the IM window are completely optional for all users and they can be enabled/disabled via the top option in Preferences > Conversations. Essentially, every user gets the “Pro Version” for free if they find the ads too intrusive or annoying and wish to turn them off. Power to the users!

Since we are just starting to test ads as a revenue model, we would greatly appreciate it if you leave them turned on at first to try them out instead of going straight for the disable option. If you do decide to turn them off, let us know in the comments if you prefer to just pay for a pro version to support Digsby development.

Twitter Fixes

There was a protocol change with Twitter which caused several adverse effects including repeating popups, tweets out of order, and missing tweets – all of which should now be fixed in this release.

If you run into any bugs please use “Help > Send Bug Report” in the main menu to submit a diagnostic log or email us at bugs@digsby.com. We’ll keep pushing to make Digsby even better and greatly appreciate your help in spreading the word!

TomSe

One of the main reasons for choosing something like digsby is BECAUSE it is (was) ad-free. I would gladly pay a small amount to have an ad-free version, I won't use it with ads, ever...

I used the ads for a while, but they were somewhat distracting. I would have kept them on anyway but there were a few(sorry i didn't note which ones at the time) that would hang the chat window, and the whole client, until closed. After dealing with that a few times i turned off the ads. I would definitely pay for a Pro version however.

Thank for the feedback and trying out the ads. If you ever decide to re-enable them, could you submit a bug report when you catch an ad affecting performance? Click Help > Submit Bug Report. This lets us help you out and minimize this issue as much as we can.

Josh

I'd consider purchasing a "Pro" version that was ad free. I've done so in the past with Trillian, and I like the Digsby interface and feature set more.

Probably been said lika a hundred times already but if you start selling an Ad-free pro version, sure you´ll still have hundreds of buyers but I think you´ll lose a lot of people as well. I chose Digsby because it was ad-free. Now that I have some cash I wouldn't mind donating but if I´m to purchase a client I might as well look for any other non-free alternatives.

Frank

I wouldnt bother if the ads were static and not animated and if the ads were for things i am really interested in. I hate advertising that draws my attention away from the important things.

Thanks for the sentiment. Right now we don't have a "Pro" version of Digsby but the ads are optional and can be disabled via Tools > Preferences > Conversations > Very first option.

Luc

I would have a pro version ;)

mhz0282

I would not pay for an ad-free version of Digsby, nor would I use a free Disgby with ads. I appreciate that you can disable them for free now, but I am pretty close to uninstalling Digsby altogether anyway. It already takes up too much RAM as it is - ads aren't going to help. The ads also force your chat windows to be a size that is, for me, unacceptably large. An otherwise inferior product like Trillian might be better than this.

Ok, I wasn't minding the ads, I really wasn't But over the past two hours, I've had one launch a pop-up, and another blast a "CONGRATULATIONS YOU'VE WON!" over my speakers while I was trying to watch a movie. Not cool. Not cool at all. Is this what I get for trying to support you guys? I'd really rather have a pro version I have to pay for than put up with these ads.

Why is always repeating the same thing. No one will not like this thing with your advertising

Mchl Larson

I'd pay for the software to get rid of the ads and the other alternate revenue models.

aj_robins

I understand why you want to put in ads, but the fact is that you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. I'm sure some people will pay, but I don't know how many. I have to admit that I'm unlikely to use an ad-supported version, and any paid version would have to be well below trillian's price (currently fairly low).

If I have to pay, trillian becomes attractive, as trillian has (limited) video chat, (limited) encrypted chat, and a user-specifiable history directory. Digsby has none of these. Yes, trillian was good, and became (in my opinion) "a fetid pile of dingos' kidneys" (to use someone else's words), but the current beta version is actually shaping up to be a viable digsby competitor. On the other hand, I've found that the denizens that inhabit the trillian support forums aren't always the friendliest people.

Digsby is an excellent and worthwhile IM client. I would gladly support it if they offered an inexpensive pro version. To me, this program has got most of what I need, I won't be totally satisfied with it though, until there are more skinning options(including ones that allow customizing the window borders) and transparency so it blends better with my desktop. Otherwise an amazing client and I'll continue to use it.

Captain Picard

It's nice that you have the option to turn the ads off, but they mysteriously keep turning themselves back on. OK, I will give you the benefit of the doubt, but let's face it, it is a but that has to be fixed or you're going to lose trust...

Digsby

Are you running Digsby from two locations? If one is the old version and the other is not, that could definitely cause this. Even if you logged in to the old version once from work/home to get the update after already updating at the other location that would reset the pref since it did not exist in the last release. Once both locations have the new release it will stop resetting.

S Davis

Ads in conversations are over the line. I can't imagine having to tolerate advertising during phone conversations or in personal letters. It's the difference between telemarketing and interruption, spam mail and intrusion, conversation and public intervention.

I picked up Digsby because it was a good program to talk to people who don't use Google Talk. I certainly don't like the bloated, horrendous Windows Live Messenger. I'm tired of having to choose between ignoring some friends and having awful software on my machine. So yes, I turned off the ads. If you want me to pay for Digsby, make it a program worth paying for.

Love,-S. Davis

Taza

Can you ban ads with video and sound?

static or a little animation is fine, but not the ones streaming video!

Digsby

If you see one with sounds please use Help > Send Bug Report and include a screenshot of the ad. There should definitely be no sound ads as those are banned. As for animated ads, in the next release we will add an option to disable Flash ads so that will limit the animation.

Digs Radio10

You are correct sir. :) But I will still be more than happy to pay to make the ads go away!

Caronweb

Ads don't bother me at all. At 1920x1080 resolution, it's like they don't really exist. Too small. But I can understand that average user computer don't have this resolution and need to decrease the IM window to fit their need for their screen resolution. Ads looks like Google Adsense, maybe Digsby should use Text only Adsense ads, they are less intrusive and more flexible on design (can make them smaller than a banner). Well, good luck to find your way of financing, your app is very good.

Oim332

Like many others, I am willing to pay to support Digsby for a few years now. The problem is that, today, I think the service should be paid to allow a Digsby to resume the advance it had before (now Live Messenger is a multi-protocol and is available in mobile version).

Toastedgnome

I disabled the ads. I am not opposed to paying a fair price to support a good product. However that annoying "You WON" ad blasting through my speakers had me nearly uninstalling Digsby - free or not. If I have to pay to be free of ads, so be it. If you decide to use an ad-only free version and not allow us to disable ads, you will ruin a good product IMO and lose me.

Digsby

If you see another audio ad please use Help > Send Bug Report and include a screenshot so we can get it banned.

I hate ads... had them on at first but will turn them off. Instead I'm happy to pay to get rid of ads, i realise the necessary of keeping up a revenue stream :). Just so long at it's not too unreasonable - up $10 i'm guessing. Perhaps a bit further. Anyway, keep up the good work! :)

Chris

I would happily pay for a pro version without adds that doesnt try to install various toolbars and post "I use Digsby" in my status.

Jake Hawkes

It's my opinion that the ads take up too much space and are in a very inconvenient place. Also, since most of them have white backgrounds, I find myself accidentally clicking on them when I meant to put the focus in the text area so I could start typing. If the ads were at the top of the conversation window they might not be as offensive. I might be willing to pay a small fee for Digsby. I think a lot more people are willing to pay a small amount for an application, thanks to iOS. If you ever finish a Mac version, I'm betting Apple's rumored MacOS App Store would be a good place to sell it.

Holo4ever

hmm... Question, if we open many conversations, close them and reopen them and so on...you basically get money ? :O

I can see so many ways to abuse this :D (in your favour ofc :P)

Aliss77777

OK when is the ipad version coming? :)

Ace

Alright, so I didn't read every comment here or every Digsby reply, but the one that I did read mentioned "The ads would be fine if they didn't force the width of each chat window to be huge" and then I tried resizing the window, and it turned out he was right. I got digsby because of how minimalist I can make it (and because it seems to be the only client that lets you reply in the popup chat notification).

What I don't really understand is how it was decided that having ads in the buddy list would be more obtrusive than having one right below the text field of every chat window where I end up clicking it accidentally every time I go to talk to someone?

Maybe I'm just used to it because of the old AIM, but I'd rather have the ad in my buddylist where it can help you guys without hindering me too much. If people want to pay to have no ads, that's fine for them, I won't be one of those people. As a completely selfish and self-interested college student looking to keep his overall debt down, the last thing I'm going to do is start paying for messaging software when I have 3 others already installed on my PC and Meebo to access when I'm anywhere else.

So yeah, I don't see any issue with an ad in the buddylist window, so long as I can still resize it.

As an aside, I thought the research module thing was really cool. Did that just stop being effective or something?

ought be a viable model to ENTIRELY replace malware code to render ads

Okpit

hai hai hai

good afternoon all

I am a new member

Greetings

person

ads in the buddy list would be better, imo. i usually keep it minimized (for more desktop space) and only look at it occasionally. the actual chat windows get a lot more "screen time", so ads there are very aggravating.

I don't mind the ad so much as i mind the FLASHING ads. I have an additional monitor that's sole purpose is for chat windows, so they don't interrupt my workflow. But, the moving/flashing distracts my peripheral vision. Maybe some ad filtering would be nice?

I tried the ad's - really dont like it so I disabled it. Its clunky, in the way and takes up unnecessary space.I wouldnt mind paying a small fee to contribute to Digsby.

Keep up the good work - this is still my favorite IM tool.

Ed1000

Several people here have stated that they don't like the ads, yet they are unwilling to pay for Digsby. The reality is this: Free may be good, but the reality is that the Digsby programmers have to eat and pay rent like the rest of us. I have paid for several applications because they meet my needs and/or desires.

Since not enough people are donating, the guys at Digsby should offer the adware version, along with a paid version to remove the ads. As I said, I would be more than willing to pay for a license.

As an aside -- and someone else mentioned this -- it was rather irritating to find out that Digsby promoted itself in my AIM status. Like the other poster, I found out when someone asked me. Promotion is fine, but it should be accompanied by a dialog box on istallation. ("Promote Digsby? Yes/No" would be OK.)

I would have left the advertisements of if it didn't force my chat windows wider then i like them. I like to decide my own screen real estate, If that was fixed I might be more willing keep the ads on.

Myitaliandolly

Shaking my damn head at some of the comments here... it takes less time to READ the blog post and realize you can turn the ads off than to type up a comment complaining. Kudos to the Digsby team for dignifying some of those people with comments with responses instead of just ignoring them.

As for the ads... Like many have said, the animations are very obtrusive. They really distract me and I couldn't keep them on for more than 5 minutes. Static/text ads would be much better. I love Digsby and recommend it to all my friends, but even so, I would not be willing to pay for a pro version. So for me personally, finding a way to streamline the ads would be better. I'd still use and support Digsby this way w/o having to pay.

Eljava

You should offer an on/off toggle. And, it's buggy and slow right now. If you had a seamless toggle option ad that didn't slow me down, I'd mind much less. Thanks.

Bosclarke

Another option would be to place the banner ads at the top of the chat window, right under the menu. That would be less distracting than at the bottom where I am typing in.

Digsby

Working on adding that option now :)

Meredith

I'd rather have you use my server/system power via the cloud as a business model rather than the ads. Sorry!

Oh god, those ads are INCREDIBLY distracting. I'd probably go back to using discrete clients before having to look at those.

I support Digsby by promoting it to friends, coworkers, etc. I'm not against funding development, I know how this stuff works (I work for a leading software company in its field). But the ads, man... They're ugly. They're irritating. They're highly detrimental to the user experience.

You know what ads I think are incredibly tastefully done? Gmail. Yeah, the rotating ad above your list of emails. I barely notice it. But I notice it when there's a keyword that grabs me. Which is the point--good targeting, right?

I'd pay for a premium Digsby if it had more features. Not even taking ads into consideration. I don't know if I want to pay just to remove the ads, I feel it's bullying to a point. But, if the paid version had no ads and more features, I'm in.

That being said, if the free version had streamlined ads that didn't hog resources and take up WAY too much screen real estate (My work machine is a 15" laptop, and if I'm working out of the office I don't have my nice big display), I'd be much more inclined to leave the ads on.

Sorry though, for now I've got to turn the ads off. I tried. We'll try again next time. :D

I'll leave the ads on for a little while per your request. Please give those of us who want it a paid option. I use Digsby because I like it and I've enjoyed its evolution. Without a paid option, I'll go back to Trillian (for which I already own a license). Thanks!

Anne

The new ads are very irritating to my eye. It's a bit too in your face in the conversation window and it's too big. I'd be very happy to pay maybe 15-30 EUR a year for Digsby without Yahoo! Toolbars and without ads. Keep the research module as an option, though.

After using Trillian for 5 years, I finally decided that I needed a change and downloaded Digsby instead. Trillian used to be the same as Digsby, and then they also decided to start putting ad's in the IM windows.

They now offer a pro version of their software that comes ad-free with other "pro" features as well, including video extras, more color themes, the ability to use the program in your web browser, and more. And it only costs $15.

In the time I've used Digsby I've come to love it, but I'm going to have to say that if the only upgrade you'll be offering with your "pro" version is only going to be the lack of ads I'm just going to go back to Trillian.

I love Digsby and all that you guys do, and I completely understand that you need the money to keep the company going, but with the way the economy is now, not many people have the money to throw away on a chat program with nothing but an ad-disabler added in.

Also, just thought I'd point out that the ad's continued to freeze my chats. I tried disabling them and they're still there.

Designer

I tried the ads for a while and just turned them off because they were too intrusive, but I certainly understand that Digsby needs to support itself and it is worth something to me to use it. I can think of two solutions that would keep me happy:

1) Use less intrusive ads. The width was a problem for me (as already noted by others) and the animations were very distracting. Narrower, static ads would be okay. Text would be even better.

and/or...

2) Charge a modest fee. I use Digsby every day and find it quite helpful, so I'd be willing to pay to support it. If I paid, though, I would expect things like donating CPU cycles and promoting Digsby in my status to be turned OFF by default, in addition to being ad-free.

Hi digsby-ers!I decided to live with the ads for the last week to see how they worked out and ended up having to disable them as I found the animations intrusive.I keep my chat window off to the side and so the blinking would catch my eye and reward me with some random thing instead of a shiny new message.

Without the option to have static ad messages, i would happily pay $10/year for a Digsby license without ads.

Digsby

We're working on adding an option to disable Flash ads now! Thanks for the feedback!

I tried using the ads, but unfortunately changing the ad tends to "freeze" (a.k.a. use a ton of resources) the program until the new ad banner loads. That kind of behavior won't do for me, so I had to turn them off. Sorry Digsby!

Digsby

Thanks for reporting the issue. Loading a single banner definitely shouldn't be slowing things down at all. Can you email bugs@digsby.com so we can try to figure out the cause? Mention the specs of your computer.

InstantRunoff

Having used Digsby with the ads a little bit, I can give more feedback: I think the ads and placement are fine. I clicked on one for Super Mario Bros., but the website it linked to was for a download that looked suspicious to me. If the ads are going to be for risky downloads or scammy-looking services, I don't think there will be a lot of clicks. Digsby users are probably more savvy than typical Internet folk, and they might not even click ads as much.

I agree with previous posts that graphical or text ads are fine, but please no animated ads. I do like ads better than the research module. I use a laptop, and I want the processor to stay cool when idle, even if plugged in, because my previous laptop overheated and died.

Knightz

you guys keep complaining you're getting a program this good but you don't want the programmers to get good cash from it .

For those of you requesting for a pro version. we know u got a lot of cash go show it off somewhere else and we all know hackers hate pro versions it wont take them long to crack it by the the whole world would have it for free. how would they make money then,

And about the donations well am a very proud man and begging for cash for my sweat i don't think so not for giving the world something this good for god sake the live on this and u want the to keep begging u money no way for how long should they keep begging for cash.

all the donation they need from u is to keep their adds going what's the big deal in overlooking it if u have a better way for the adds to be placed just tell them how and i bet they will do it if its a good idea but tell them not to put any that's GREED 90% of you guys wont do what your asking them to do.

Every body wants to make money that's what we live for so pls people be reasonable don't ask them to beg for penny when they can really make money for them self and not disturb me and you for any of it

I would much rather have the ads in the buddy list. Where it is in the conversation window is really annoying to me. I'm all for Digsby becoming commercially viable, but the ads need to be moved somewhere else.

I don't mind paying for a pro version, but that needs to be available before I am forced to have adds in the conversation window because I would pay for another app if that becomes the case.

uGin

I will gladly pay for the pro version in case the linux version will be developed!

Daniel McGoldrick

I really don't mind ads at all, the only reason I have them disabled is because I can't size the windows as narrow as I would like when they're enabled...

I would happily pay $10 for digsby if it meant I didn't have to worry about what kind of intrusive options were going to pop up in the next version. I think it's a great product, but don't trust it. Instead, with every update I have to comb through the settings to make sure it isn't wasting my battery, my attention, or spamming my contacts on any of the services I've linked to.

A one time purchase that just gave me the product without the hassle? Yeah, easy sell.

I prefer to pay for a pro version and have my chat windows without ads. If I have the choice, I will gladly pay a license, because I think that Digsby is a great peace of software. As a developer, I know the effort needed to bring applications to life. But, please, no ads. In order to support Digsby, I kill keep them turned on, but offer us a pro version with no ads (with special features, if you want, that distinguish it from the free one).Keep on working!

dalsr

Do what you need to do to keep your services up Digsby, i fully support it, i donate processing power, donate money and will fully support the ads. If people dont like the ad, have a paid version then, but dont remove them because people are threatening to no use Digsby, what are they going to do? Move back to trillian? LOL.

keep up the great work :D

ps: can i please ask the feature where we can hide our email accounts on the buddy list the same way as we can hide the messenger accounts, i have tons of emails and it takes lots of space on the buddy list, and i cant even scroll thru the accounts to check them. but hey thanks anyways :D

I'd like to suggest using google ads instead of a splashing and colorful banner that hurts the experience. I think that displaying one single line of google targeted ads on de IM dialog would be unobtrusive.

NEVER adware Digsby

"I already donate my CPU resources"

there is an eerie dev silence on this

Wouldn't it be trivial to add a resource 'ODOMETER' to that module?

@dev

will you allow users to pay by cpu cycle-mileage?

I would participate in that support model only if the application were entirely clean: no adware enabled by default, no adware modules compiled into the binary, no grayware potential

Tatedance

The Ads are terrible, they are big and animated... yuck. Ads are one thing, fair enough you need money, but text ads taking up 5-8px at the bottom is the way to go.

Anyway I use Skype now and Digsby for FB chat, I can find alternatives like most people. You should have started off with minimal text ads, but choosing to bash your users over the head with ugly 90s style myspace ads is just wrong.

Joe24

They're lucky I checked the developer blog. I nearly uninstalled on the spot the second I saw an ad. There are other free alternatives to Digsby, and I have no qualms with moving if they start this crap.

Placement and Visibility - Users are are bombarded by online ads almost perpetually. Everytime we notice an ad we either decide it's relevant enough to merit our interest (and click rapidly), or we attempt to ignore it. Advertisers are in the habit of making ads as difficult to ignore as possible, but this entirely misses the point! You can't generate interest by being obnoxious.

Google products generally are offered for free initially, and when they introduce ads they do so unobtrusively. You could learn from this.

For your UI, I would suggest placing the ads as far as possible from the area of constant user focus (text input box, most recent messages). How about a rolling bar at the top of the window, that either rolled down over the least-recent messages, or roll up above the title bar (do NOT move the title bar or resize the window automatically, as a rule). This could take place every few minutes, for a period of 10 to 30 seconds (the only window for significant ad click-thru).

Second issue: The ads I saw were crap. Poppit? Sure, that has general appeal. Expanding my UI by 20%, and filling 80% of that with whitespace? I suddenly feel like I'm paying for the service (in visible real estate) even without generating revenue for Digsby, and I don't like that. Also, the icon displayed used every color imaginable. The next round of ads were also tripe, for their own reasons. Work from home for $84/hr? What you're advertising is only slightly less illegal than freelance prostitution, and certainly a hell of a lot less reputable. I have no respect for whatever ad service you chose for this venture, but they are tainting you considerably. AdSense isn't exactly the most profitable platform, but they have *standards*. Additionally, isn't context-based advertising perfect for real-time conversations? I would much rather prefer relevant, non-scam advertising, in a highly condensed format.

Ty

If you guys make a paid version (Which you shouldn't do anyways, but if you must) please consider this:

-Let people try a 30 day risk free period of the paid version.-Only make it a one time cost.-Offer the program for considerably less for existing users, and new users within the first month of release.-Call the free version "Digsby free" and the paid version "Digsby". Calling an ad-free program "Pro" is generic and a misnomer, and shows a lot about what companies consider professional.-Offer an option to pay with adverts. What I mean is force users under this option to have an ad (or multiple ads in different locations at once) displayed and once the profit made from the ads from that users equals the cost of the program +20% consider it paid and unlock the full program. This would be a revolutionary idea, would seem like a good deal to the user, and profit the company simultaneously.-Don't dumb down the free version, simply make the paid version better than the program currently is, as well as ad free. People will seem like they are paying for more than diverting ads, and wont feel ripped off by downloading the free version with backwards progression. Programs that have done this are notorious with failure. -Make file transfers, video chat, and other bandwidth critical functions run at 500kb/s or more (rather than the current 50kbs average). In my opinion it already should be.-Support all protocols such as Skype (I know its hard, but I have faith that you can do it!).

If my ideas are implemented I simply ask for credit (and perhaps a free lifetime subscription if a paid version is released :) )

Thank you for your consideration.

-Ty26797@aol.com

Digsby

Thanks for the feedback!

Matt

Poor business planning, Digsby. I'm a bit disappointed (I'll be less disappointed if it turns out you have not employed anyone with a business education during this 'lets serve ads' decision process).

Anyway, get rid of the ads and don't resort to the bottom-feeder world of ad networks. Accept who you are - a exceptionally well made niche product in a very crowded space. Your high-quality product and passionate user-base is your competitive advantage (and differentiation). Don't throw that away by intimating the rest of your competitors.

Charge users a fee to use Digsby. $7 a year. Do the math on that. Even if only 20% of your current user-base converts, you'll be making way more than any ad network will pay out.

Ad-supported means you're just like the rest. The world doesn't need another free, ad-supported IM client. The world needs a premium product that stands out from the rest.

Digsby

Thanks for the feedback!

Bosclarke

The banner ads are a little distracting, but not too bad. Would it be possible to make the bar separating the text input area from the banner add thicker? If it was 2x thicker or so, it would cause less eye-confusion with the dynamic banner ads.

Digsby

We're working on adding options now. Thanks for the feedback.

Aaron

Moving away from all the talk about the ads....

I would really like to be ably to turn off notifications for specific accounts for examplehave them on for MSN but turned off for Facebook Chat

Another suggestion is to have Away and Busy statuses separate because at the moment the icon is the same for both and if you change one it changes the other

Regards Aaron

xskinyx

I've been using digsby for a year or two now, and this is the first time I'm thinking about looking for something else. Last night before I applied the update, digbsy was the perfect program for me. Now my IM window is super wide and all my chat area is taken up by a banner ad... literally night and day! It's no longer sleek and simple which was the reason why I started using digsby in the first place. I think banner ads work on websites because there's a lot of wasted/unused space, but that's not true about an IM client. So what I'm saying is... if this continues I'll probably just find something else. It's not a threat, that's just probably what I'll end up doing. I'm sorry guys.

Ty

You can disable the ads, if you spent half as much time looking under preferences as you did ranting about your horrible problem, they wouldn't be a damn problem any more.

Niebr

I have no problem with this, itsj sut a small ad that helps digsby, and its not liek theyre loaded with money and still using ads like MSN, windows live messenger, i support this, and ill leave the ads on,

AnonymousCoward

I'll pay for Digsby if it'll remove these ads. Offer that pro version.

Crackerer

Just a suggestion, google text ads as an option too.

Adam

I'd definitely pay for an ad-free version. Ideally I'd like to just pay a one-time cost and that's it. But I'd be comfortable with a one-time payment to own the program and then you'd get updates for say a year. Then if you want updates after a year you'd pay some amount for each subsequent year of updates... kind of like how the maps subscriptions work on GPS units. Seems like a nice compromise to allowing users to pay a one-time fee to keep the program forever but with an incentive to pay for updates and Digsby will get some subscription-type stability in revenue. Of course in lieu of all of this I'd be perfectly willing to donate to development. I like Wikipedia's approach. Maybe asking for donations could be another experiment to see if it generates some good revenue.

Ty

I completely disagree with you, there are so many other free options for all in one messaging systems that are comparable with no ads. Although you may be willing to shell out money for something that could be totally free to you, most people would be much more comfortable pocketing the money and downloading a competitors free application. What makes an application that emulates other free software worth the same price as an expensive GPS unit's subscriptions that cannot be replaced by a competitors free version? Unless they make some seriously changes to the applications functions, as well as eliminate all Digsby self-sponsoring status messages and add phone support (which would cost a huge amount of money to offer) I see no reason why most people would think it is a good way to spend there hard earned dollars in an economic rescission. Why do you think so many people got Digsby in the first place?: It (was) free, had no ads, and was simple to setup and easy on the system resource overhead.People already have no choice in advertising Digsby on there status message on other peoples lists, it does not support Skype and many other protocols as well as the tendency to need reinitializing on email accounts like MSN, Windows mail, Gmail, Hotmail, and myspace. I simply couldn't see the program being successful for anything more than a one time charge of 5 dollars.